Soto, Stanton homers back Rodón as Yankees top wild Guardians in ALCS opener
By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK — Juan Soto’s home run punctured Cleveland pitching, which then went wild.
Soto put New York ahead in a three-run third inning, and the Yankees beat the Guardians, 5-2, on Monday night in an American League Championship Series opener that included Cleveland throwing five wild pitches and walking nine batters.
Giancarlo Stanton added his 13th career postseason homer for the Yankees, who are seeking a record 41st AL pennant and their first since winning the 2009 title.
“Getting the start-off win is big,” Stanton said. “It’s a message in its own.”
Cleveland became the second team to throw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches in a postseason inning and tied a postseason record with five overall. Guardians pitchers walked six in a nine-batter span and nine overall.
“They don’t chase a whole lot,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “If I take something away from tonight, we just need to attack the zone better.”
New York batters have walked 36 times in five postseason games.
“That’s what they’re capable of. That’s in their DNA,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We beat that over – we hammer it.”
Game 2 is at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night (4:30 p.m. PT, TBS, truTV). Entering this year, teams taking the opener of a series with a 2-3-2 format have won 66 of 99 times.
Soto entered 7 for 11 with four homers against Cobb. Before a sellout crowd of 47,264 that included pop star Taylor Swift, Soto hit his first postseason homer for New York when he drove a high slider from Alex Cobb into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center.
He made a circle sign toward the relievers with his hands as he rounded first.
“It’s only me and the bullpen,” Soto said, smiling. “We keep it to ourselves.”
Rodón rebounded from the Yankees’ only loss in the AL Division Series, limiting the Guardians to a pair of singles before Brayan Rocchio’s sixth-inning homer.
“The goal was to just stay in control, stay in control of what I can do, obviously physically and emotionally,” Rodón said. “I thought I executed that well tonight.”
Stanton’s seventh-inning homer extended the lead to 5-1. Steven Kwan cut the Guardians’ deficit when he extended his postseason hitting streak to a team-record 11 games with an RBI single in the eighth off Clay Holmes.
Luke Weaver entered with runners at the corners. He struck out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and retired José Ramírez on a groundout, and then followed a leadoff walk in the ninth with three straight strikeouts for his fourth save this postseason.
Making his first playoff appearance in 11 years, Cobb walked the bases loaded in the third and rookie reliever Joey Cantillo threw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches.
Cantillo had four wild pitches overall, one shy of the record for a postseason game set by Rick Ankiel of St. Louis in a 2000 NLDS opener against Atlanta. The only other time a team scored twice on wild pitches in a postseason inning was by Minnesota against Oakland’s Tim Hudson and Ted Lilly in a 2002 ALDS.
“That performance was obviously the difference in the game, so that’s on me,” Cantillo said.
Cobb dropped in 0-2 in the playoffs, making just his fifth start in a year limited by injuries. He threw 36 of 65 pitches for strikes, getting only one swing and miss, and allowed three runs, five hits and three walks in 2⅔ innings.
Cobb, who had hip surgery last Oct. 31, was removed because of hip tightness and a back spasm.
“It’s kind of been there for a little bit but, obviously, I had the surgery and tendinitis kind of flares up every once in a while,” Cobb said. “Sometimes the back will tighten up along with it.”
Rodón struck out nine and walked none, getting 25 misses among 53 swings, matching the fourth-most misses in a postseason game since pitch-tracking began in 2008. His pitches broke so much that catcher Austin Wells had to throw to first three times on strikeouts for the putouts.
“He was just in complete command of himself and of his emotions,” Boone said.
Still, New York knows it was only one game. The Yankees opened the 2019 ALCS with a win at Houston, then lost three in a row and were knocked out in six games.
“In our eyes, we haven’t done nothing yet,” Stanton said. “We’ve got to win three out of six, and we take that as three out of three.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes (flexor strain in pitching elbow) is to throw a second bullpen session Wednesday and is a possibility for the World Series roster, should the Yankees advance.
UP NEXT
Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole makes his third postseason start on Tuesday night after beating Kansas City in the AL Division Series clincher. The former UCLA and Orange Lutheran High standout is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA this postseason. Right-hander Tanner Bibee, a former Mission Viejo High star, will start for the Guardians. He had a 2.08 ERA without a decision in a pair of ALDS starts against Detroit. Bibee has pitched once at Yankee Stadium, his second major league outing in May 2023. He allowed two runs over 5⅓ innings in a no-decision, giving up Anthony Volpe’s opposite-field homer over the right field short porch.